Minnesota Sports Forum

Fun night to be downtown Minneapolis. We spent time before and after the game wandering through the skyway and walking up Nicolet Mall. The Super Bowl transformed downtown Minneapolis into something more like New York City with high energy and late night crowds everywhere. Last night gave me a new appreciation for the Minneapolis skyway system. They entire system was alive with shops and food. Shops and restaurants normally closed or empty late at night were open and crowded. Vacant areas were filled with shops and food vendors that have never been there and probably never will again. I began to imagine how incredible it would have been here if the Vikings had made it all the way. Alas, that didn't happen.

The energy surrounding the Super Bowl found its way into Target Center last night. It wasn't quite a capacity crowd, but it was a big crowd with LOTS of great energy and an assortment of celebrities, including Floyd Mayweather, Sting, Guy Fieri from "Drive-in, Diners and Dives" and our own Stephon Diggs among others. Thankfully, the Wolves didn't disappoint, using the crowd's energy while creating their own towards another nice home win. The team showed better ball-movement last night and played well overall on both ends.

Once again, it was Butler and KAT leading the way as it was Thursday night against the Bucks. Jimmy's numbers speak for themselves -- 30 efficient points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. He shot 52.4% from the field and hit 2 of 4 threes. Towns had 22 points to go with 16 rebounds and 1 steal. Towns generated great energy on both ends of the floor. He's always had such great competitive energy, but it seemed even more amped last night. I love that he's no longer jawing repeatedly at officials even though in my view officials continue to deny him the respect a player of his stature deserves. AD's 38 points are not indicative of poor defense by KAT. The Wolves were clearly focused by design on stopping everyone else and KAT was a part of that. AD is simply that good when he's healthy and motivated as he was last night.

Beyond or dynamic duo of Jimmy and KAT, other guys who stood out as keys to our win last night were Taj and Tyus. Taj continues to amaze me with his footwork and ability to score on the offensive end. Last night he had some truly explosive moves to the basket for key scores early in the game. His defense was, of course, top notch. Tyus was terrific on both ends. His 15 points on 66.7% shooting and 2 steals in 20 minutes only tell part of the tale. He brings so much energy and intelligence to the floor. He runs the offense like a real PG. He also does a nice job consistently staying in front of his man and he's a disruptive force on the defensive end with active hands that harass opposing ball handlers and generate turnovers.

In addition to Tyus, I thought Belly and Gorgui played well off the bench. And Wiggins was solid with 15 points on 50% shooting from the field. He played well defensively, but didn't contribute on the boards as much as he should. However, overall, he played his role well as our third wheel in the staring lineup.

Only two Wolves played poorly last night -- Teague and Crawford. Jamaal wasn't in the zone last night, yet he did what he always does - dribbling around and then jacking up shots from anywhere and everywhere. It's infuriating to watch sometimes, but exhilarating in games when he get on those runs where the ball repeatedly finds it's way through the hoop like a heat-seeking missle. Last night was NOT one of those games for Jamaal. And that's when you start to really notice all the flaws in his game -- the poor defense and questionable decision making. Teague shot fairly well last night. That's key for him because that's about all he brings to the table. The offense simply doesn't flow well when he's out there and his teammates constantly have to cover for his poor defense. When he's hitting shots, he can be a net plus. But when he's not, he's a net negative. I'd say that he was a slight negative for the Wolves last night.

Teague is the only Wolves player who continues to consistently frustrate me with his play. Everyone else, including Wiggins, has found their role and consistently impacts games positively for the Wolves. That's just not the case with Teague. Tyus is clearly the better PG in my view. I'd like to see more minutes for both Tyus and Belly going forward.

But I'm quibbling. Overall, another nice team performance at home from the Wolves. And the chemistry looks terrific. They guys are always helping each other up off the floor, slapping hands, talking and encouraging one another during games. Before games, guys are talking and joking with one another. Butler is the biggest talking. He talks and jokes with everyone on the team. KAT's probably the second biggest talker. There's just a great vibe you see on the bench and on the floor. Teague seems to be a bit of a loner -- not engaging much with his teammates. But he's always positive and is one of the first guys on the bench to cheer for his teammates. So I think he just has a quiet more introverted personality. As much as I don't like the way he plays, I think he's a terrific teammate.

I'd still like to shore up our wing depth and I still want more ball movement in our offense, but otherwise we have a nice team that's playing well at home.

I think it's pretty amusing how close Jimmy Butler and Tyus Jones are getting. Always joking back and forth with each other, both in person and on social media.

Camden wrote:I think it's pretty amusing how close Jimmy Butler and Tyus Jones are getting. Always joking back and forth with each other, both in person and on social media.

Tyus also talks a lot with Jamaal. Jimmy seems pretty close to Cole as well as Tyus. One of the things I love about Jimmy is that he talks and jokes with everyone on the team. That's part of what makes him a better leader than KG. Garnett had his favorites and the Wolves back then tended to divide into cliques. Jimmy has the opposite impact. He's what you might call a glue-guy leader.

Speaking of Tyus, I forgot to mention that his brother was at the game last night. He's been coming to a lot of games this season. He sits across the isle and a few rows down from us. Looked like his mom was with him last night. He looks exactly like Tyus. I'm not exaggerating when I say they almost look like identical twins.

lipoli390 wrote:Speaking of Tyus, I forgot to mention that his brother was at the game last night. He's been coming to a lot of games this season. He sits across the isle and a few rows down from us. Looked like his mom was with him last night. He looks exactly like Tyus. I'm not exaggerating when I say they almost look like identical twins.

I've seen his brother play a handful of times, I'd say most likely another 1 and done player. He's bigger and more athletic then Tyus. Not quite the floor general Tyus is but still plays with an innate feel for the position.

I agree with your assessment of Teague last night. I saw in the tread some thought he played well, but I thought it was mostly the same from him. Very little pace to his game, over dribbling, etc..when he makes shots it helps but it's the same style of play. I didn't watch him enough to know if this was his game in Atlanta. So tough to assess if it's a confidence or coaching issue or if this is who he is. I can't believe how badly his misses his floater at close range so frequently.

I continue to believe the best combination for the wolves is Butler, Belly, Kat and Tyus. Play with pace and pass the ball in open court situations like no other combination of players we have. Jimmy still plays in isolation too much for my liking, that's a coaching this. Tibs has so much confidence with him.

Would we really miss Teague if we traded him? I don't dislike the guy or the player but it seems like an obvoius path to improve our team. You throw an upper echelon 3 point shooter on this team and we are really set up to win.

Duke13 wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:Speaking of Tyus, I forgot to mention that his brother was at the game last night. He's been coming to a lot of games this season. He sits across the isle and a few rows down from us. Looked like his mom was with him last night. He looks exactly like Tyus. I'm not exaggerating when I say they almost look like identical twins.

I've seen his brother play a handful of times, I'd say most likely another 1 and done player. He's bigger and more athletic then Tyus. Not quite the floor general Tyus is but still plays with an innate feel for the position.

I agree with your assessment of Teague last night. I saw in the tread some thought he played well, but I thought it was mostly the same from him. Very little pace to his game, over dribbling, etc..when he makes shots it helps but it's the same style of play. I didn't watch him enough to know if this was his game in Atlanta. So tough to assess if it's a confidence or coaching issue or if this is who he is. I can't believe how badly his misses his floater at close range so frequently.

I continue to believe the best combination for the wolves is Butler, Belly, Kat and Tyus. Play with pace and pass the ball in open court situations like no other combination of players we have. Jimmy still plays in isolation too much for my liking, that's a coaching this. Tibs has so much confidence with him.

I agree Duke. Butler, Belly, KAT, Tyus and Wiggins is our best combination. Jimmy plays too much iso for my liking as well, but it would be much better if he didn't have Teague out there at the same time stalling the ball.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Would we really miss Teague if we traded him? I don't dislike the guy or the player but it seems like an obvoius path to improve our team. You throw an upper echelon 3 point shooter on this team and we are really set up to win.

I don't think we'd miss him, except for the fact that we'd be pretty think at PG. On the other hand, Jamaal and Jimmy can play point and Aaron Brooks didn't look as bad as I thought he'd be when he got more minutes with Teague out.

I just don't see a team out there that would give us good value in return given Teague's contract relative to what he brings to the table. We'd have to take back a big annual salary. Maybe the Cavs would be interested. Not sure who I'd want from that team though.

lipoli390 wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Would we really miss Teague if we traded him? I don't dislike the guy or the player but it seems like an obvoius path to improve our team. You throw an upper echelon 3 point shooter on this team and we are really set up to win.

I don't think we'd miss him, except for the fact that we'd be pretty think at PG. On the other hand, Jamaal and Jimmy can play point and Aaron Brooks didn't look as bad as I thought he'd be when he got more minutes with Teague out.

I just don't see a team out there that would give us good value in return given Teague's contract relative to what he brings to the table. We'd have to take back a big annual salary. Maybe the Cavs would be interested. Not sure who I'd want from that team though.

In the short term, yes, I think we could survive without Teague. Tyus is ready for more minutes, Butler can handle the point (I was calling for him to be our starting PG for a minute last summer!), and Jamal can fill in as well.

But I've got a couple caveats that make me really of trading him:

1) I'd want to make sure we added a guy who can handle the ball, because those three and maybe Belly are really the only three whose handles I trust to dribble more than a couple times on this team, and I think we should always have two ball handlers on the floor at all times.

2) More importantly, I think we'd still need to add a long-term solution at the point over the summer unless Tyus REALLY impressed the rest of the year. It's probably the most important position on the floor and certainly one of the deepest in the league. Saying we can do without Teague is more about Teague's weaknesses than the strengths we have on the rest of the team. So what PGs are available in free agency next summer? CP3, but that's not happening. Isaiah Thomas. No thanks. And that's basically it. So I'm wary.

3) The other option would be to try to trade him for another PG like Dinwiddie plus salary or Kemba. I'm not sure if Dinwiddie is even under contract for next year. MJ might want a guy like Teague, but the rest of his front office would probably prefer a young asset, and I don't want to give that up necessarily.

Honestly I am starting to think Porkchop was right all this time. Rubio and Tyus basically get the benefit of the doubt at every turn. Rubio comes back from injury and sucks for 4 straight games it's ok he is trying. If Teague doesn't play well 3 quarters back from injury he basically sucks. Tyus is paying well but IMHO he is not ready to be a starting PG in this league. Teague has been at worst an average starter for years now and people want to dump the guy. It's frustrating and hilarious at the same time. Teague has flaws in his game sure. So did Rubio and so do other none all star level PGs in this league.

The Teague signing has been a bit disappointing if for no other reason he has missed more games than expected and it's been 2 different stretches which likely haven't helped him be as effective as we would have liked to see. Let's see where we are at another 10 games down the line when he may have gotten back healthy and in his groove again like he did before this last injury.